August 14, 2018

Outdoor Advertising Gets Another Look

We love a good trend and are therefore pleased to propose that outdoor advertising is about to become one. This oldest of media – likely dating back to cave paintings – is taking new life as digital signage and programmatic selling make it more targeted and profitable. Not convinced? Investment advisor Results International reports that two of the largest marcom industry deals in the first half of 2018 were in the outdoor sector, accounting for more than 10% of total dollar volume. Their own headline was the growing investment by private equity firms, which they said nearly doubled over the same period last year and accounted for one-quarter of the total volume. But everybody knows that one.

Google may enter the outdoor ad industry, according to a German magazine. The article speculates that Google won’t target ads at individuals based on their Web browsing industry – although it could. Instead, it would find the most suitable ads for the combined audience of each display at each time. Others already do this but they're not Google.

I couldn’t find a third item about outdoor. But programmatic buying is a driving that market so it’s relevant. This study from multi-channel publisher Trusted Media Brands predicts growth in private marketplaces and guaranteed programmatic, as open exchanges lose business due to fears about fraud, brand safety and data privacy. But ROI is still media buyers’ top concern so open exchanges won’t vanish as long as they deliver. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that marketers who struggle to measure ROI still prioritize it over more concrete considerations like fraud?

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